New Alzheimer's and memory care center opening

Loyalton of Broadmoor will open a 40-suite building for Alzheimer's and memory care patients in mid- to late September, adjacent to its assisted living center at 615 Southpointe Court.

"There's a tremendous need for memory care everywhere and specifically in Colorado Springs," said spokeswoman Dana Gardiner. "The population of people with Alzheimer's and dimentia in the city is astounding and growing."

Shared and private suites will be available in the new building, she said. Called Broadmoor's Join Their Journey, the program will offer activities, medical and personal care and family support. Residents also will have social areas, a community cafe, a beauty salon and other amenities.

Loyalton plans to form a support group that includes specialists in the field who can answer questions and provide coping mechanisms for caregivers.

Loyalton of Broadmoor has been owned by Emeritus Senior Living for two years and has been in Colorado Springs for about a decade. Emeritus is one of the largest operators of free-standing assisted living facilities in the U.S.

Call 579-5000 for more information.

Catholic Health Initiatives largest Catholic hospital system in U.S.

Catholic Health Initiatives, the parent company of Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, was the largest Catholic hospital in the nation last year, according to Modern Healthcare magazine.

The system operates 72 hospitals in 19 states, including Colorado, and runs Centura Health through a joint operating agreement with PorterCare Adventist Health System.

Health care systems were ranked by ownership type and size. Catholic Health Initiatives was No. 6 in the ranking by patient revenue, at $7.21 billion, up from $6.83 billion in 2006. The hospital system's net operating income increased to $359.6 million in 2007, up from $282.9 million in 2006. Total assets rose to $11.38 billion from $9.57 billion the previous year.

Nationwide, revenue from patient care at hospitals grew 8.4 percent in 2007. Hospital system profits increased by 23.8 percent.

State releases new data on hospital infections

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has released new data on hospital-acquired infections for Memorial and Penrose Hospitals. The information is available online at www.cdphe.state.co.us/hf/PatientSafety/HFAI/index.html.
The semi-annual bulletin shows the first six months of data collected from a new reporting system established by a state law approved in 2006. Hospital-acquired infections, infections that occur during or after treatment for a different condition, usually occur when medical procedures such as a central line, a type of catheter placed near the heart, introduce infections into the bloodstream.
Memorial Health System’s central hospital and Penrose-St. Francis’s Health Services’ central hospital, the only two listed in the bulletin, both ranked average. Additional reports will be released later this year.

CSHP names new CEO

Deborah L. Chandler has been named executive vice president and chief executive officer of Colorado Springs Health Partners, the city’s largest physician-owned practice said Monday. Chandler previously served as chief executive of Anchor Health Centers in Florida. CSHP has 90 physicians and 11 locations.

Memorial workers comp audit shows program being conducted properly

Though city auditor Jeff Litchfield found nine deficiencies in an audit of Memorial Health System's Workers' Compensation Fund from May 2005 through December 2006, the program is being handle properly, he said.
"They used proper underwriting techniques and claims' procedures," he said.
Released April 30, the audit found such deficiences as:
The 2006 Annual Review was not filed within 60 days of the permit anniversary date.
A 2006 quarterly analysis of the Worker's Compensation Reserve was insufficient, with no reconcilation between claims' payments in the administrative software and the general ledger.
The policies and procedures manual was out of date.
A lack of controls and maintenance of claimant files, with missing documentation and late filings.

Kaiser awards local grants

Kaiser Permanente approved nearly 300 Community Benefit grants and donations totaling $19 million nationwide in the first quarter of this year, the nonprofit health care insurer said.
Locally, Kaiser awarded nearly $100,000 in the first grant cycle of the year to:
Urban Peak's female health program for teens
Harbor House
El Paso County Medical Society Prescription Assistance Solution Service
Pikes Peak Hospice
Ronald McDonald House
Pikes Peak Therapeutic Riding Center
Inside/Out's STD/HIV prevention program
Head Start's childhood obesity program
Girl Scouts' local health and wellness intiative
Colorado Springs Child Nursery Centers' health and nutrition program
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and the Sheriff's Department to purchase electronic defibrillators.

Google makes no-cost online medical records available

Google this week opened to the public an online personal health record service, www.GoogleHealth.

The move comes after 18 months of development and a pilot program with 10,000 patients at the Cleveland Clinic.

Google Health allows users to store their medical records and lab test results online, along with information about medications, vaccinations and allergies. Users can enter some information and have data pulled from clinical records. Users also can decide whether to share information in their histories with health care providers.

Patient privacy experts have expressed concern that despite password protection, sensitive health information could be compromised. Google has said the system has the highest level of security.

Two local companies recognized for promoting corporate wellness

Colorado Springs Utilities, which provides all four utility services for local residents, and TRANE, which supplies commercial and residential heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and services, have been awarded the American Heart Association’s top wellness honor. Both local companies made the list of the nation’s 2008 Fit-Friendly Companies.
Employers on the annual list promote a fit-friendly workplace that encourages wellness by providing walking routes and promoting walking programs, supplying online newsletters and tracking tools to motivate employees, offering healthy food options in cafeterias or vending machines, and creating a work environment conducive to physical activity.
Employers that sign on to the Start! Fit-Friendly Companies Program will be recognized at the Start! Colorado Springs Heart Walk June 7 and on the program’s national Web site. Interested employers can call the local office at 635-7688.

Centura's chief medical officer takes new job

Dr. Terry O'Rourke, chief medical officer for Centura Health and formerly a general surgeon in Colorado Springs for 28 years, has accepted a new job.

He will leave Denver-based Centura and on June 2 become executive vice president and chief medical officer at Trinity Health, based in Novi, Mich. Trinity Health is the fourth largest Catholic health care system in the nation with 44,000 employees.

O'Rourke practiced as a general surgeon primarily at Penrose Hospital, which is managed by Centura, a joint Catholic/Adventist venture. As the system-wide CMO for the past three years, O'Rourke improved quality measures and safety at hospitals in the system, founded the Physician Leadership Academy and the Clinical Leadership Council and served as the clinical leader for the organization's new electronic medical and financial records system.

An interim CMO will be named, and a search for a new CMO will begin soon, Centura officials said.

Peak Vista expands with new Family Health Center

Peak Vista Community Health Centers recently hosted an open house for its newest Family Health Center at 225 S. Union Blvd.

The 34,000-square-foot building has been renovated from a former school into a medical facility with 48 exam rooms, a pharmacy, lab, well-child waiting area, registration center and a health education area.

Peak Vista also expanded hours at its Harrison School District 2 Entrada Health Center a few months ago and last summer opened a Family Health Center at the Myron Stratton Home.

The nonprofit organization established in 1971 operates 12 health centers in El Paso and Teller counties, offering primary medical, dental and behavioral health services to 53,000 low-income residents a year. The organization has immediate openings for employment at several of its locations.

Memorial Star Transport receives accreditation

Memorial Health System's medical transport program, called Memorial Star Transport, has become certified by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems. Colorado now requires medical transport systems to be accredited to be in compliance with nationally established industry standards, said Chris Valentine, spokesman for city-owned Memorial.

"We're proud we got this seal of approval the first time around," he said.

A three-day site visit and review of operations and documentation were conducted on the program, which consists of helicopter services, a critical-care ground ambulance and a fixed-wing plane. The medical transport team is based out of Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs and is available 24/7 within a 150 mile radius.

The helicopter is equipped with life saving equipment for all adult medical trauma, high-risk obstetric patients and pediatric and neonatal patients. It travels at an average speed of 150 miles per hour.

Wal-Mart, Colorado Department of Health launch statewide emergency preparedness program

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are pairing up to increase the number of Coloradans who create emergency-preparedness kits for their homes, offices and cars.

From March 1 through March 9, residents can visit Colorado's 64 Wal-Marts and 15 Sam's Clubs to view sample emergency preparedness kits on display and pick up an informational brochure, available in English and Spanish, which includes a checklist of supplies needed to create a kit.

Volunteers from the Colorado Public Health and Medical Volunteer System will distribute brochures and answer questions.

At the end of the campaign, Wal-Mart and Sam's Club locations will donate emergency kit items to the National Organization on Disability's Emergency Preparedness Initiative, which helps people with disabilities be prepared.

More than half the population is not prepared for emergencies, said Chris Lindley, director of the state health department's Emergency Preparedness and Response Division.

In February, a state of emergency was declared in Park County, after snowstorms left 100 residents without access to food and ohter supplies, which the health department says is a reminder that emergencies can arise at any time and leave people without basic necessities.

Humana realigns offerings with acquisitions

Humana Inc. is aligning the company's dental subsidiary, HumanaDental Insurance Co., with products offered by two recent acquistions, CompBenefits and KMG America. The restructuring will enable employers to offer a wider range of benefit options to employees, Humana officials said.

Products under the label, "Humana Specialty Benefits," encompass dental and vision plans, life, disability, critical illness and accident insurance, wellness and work-life programs, behavioral health and others.

Penrose-St. Francis on list of best hospitals

Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, managed by Centura Health, is the only Colorado hospital to be identified as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals by HealthGrades, a Golden-based ratings group.
Hospitals on the list were found to have an average 27 percent lower mortality rate than other U.S. hospitals.
Released Feb.25, the ranking indicating quality is based on clinical outcomes from 100 million hospitalization records from 5,000 U.S. hospitals from 1999 to 2006. To make the list, facilities must have been in the top 5 percent in the nation for clinical outcomes of 27 procedures and diagnoses for all years studied.
The list, which also includes Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, is posted at www.healthgrades.com.

Humana hires new market president for Colorado

Dan Oftedahl has been appointed market president of Humana’s Colorado operations. He will be responsible for the overall management and strategic planning for Humana’s commercial, consumer-driven health benefit products sold to employer groups in the state.
Oftedahl most recently served as regional vice president for KMG America, a subsidiary of Humana specializing in group and voluntary insurance based in Minnetonka, Minn.
He replaces Leslie Andrews, who recently accepted a regional position.

Penrose-St. Francis COO takes new job

Andrea Coleman, chief operating officer at Penrose-St. Francis Health Services since April 2005, will resign Feb. 28 to become president and chief executive officer of Trinity Regional Health System in Rock Island, Ill.

Coleman has been instrumental in developing cardic and oncology services at Penrose and played a key role in estlablishing the hospital system's cardiac council, implementing the Vascular Center of Colorado and recruiting new physicians, the hospital said.

A search for her replacement is beginning, according to Johnny Rea, spokesman for Penrose-St. Francis Health Services.

Des Moines, Iowa-based Trinity Regional Health System is a three-campus, nonprofit health care system and an affiliate of Iowa Health System.

Penrose-St. Francis Health Services' electronic medical records system in place

Penrose-St. Francis Health Services is one of several Centura Health facilities in southern Colorado to implement a new electronic information system Dec. 1.

Others are: Langstaff-Brown Urgent Care Center in Woodland Park, St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center in Pueblo and St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City.

The system will enable hospital employees to record patients' medical information electronically, which improves care and safety, according to Mike Scialdone, chief financial officer for Penrose-St. Francis Health Services.

The health care system has purchased several million dollars worth of new equipment to support the new computer system, including mobile work stations, tablet computers, desktop computers, desktop scanners, bar code scanners, printers and wireless networks.

Humana, Republic Bank debut health care credit card

Humana Inc. will offer a health care credit card issued by Republic Bank to employer groups customers beginning this month.

The HumanaAdvance SM Visa Card can be used only at hospitals, doctor and dentist offices, drug stores and other locations that sell and provide health-releated products and services. The credit card is meant for out-of-pocket health care-related expenses and is particularly beneficial for employees who have Health Savings Accounts, Humana said in a press release.

The card has an annual fee and a fixed zero percent annual percentage rate on all purchases, which can automatically be paid back over six months through an automatic payroll deduction option. It is available to any employee of an employer offering a consumer-directed health plan, whether the employee has a Humana HMO or PPO, or doesn't participate in the employer's benefit program at all.

Rehabilitation center receives Medicare certification

The Center at Centennial, a doctor-owned rehabilitation center that opened in July near the intersection of Fillmore Street and Centennial Boulevard, has received Medicare certification following a state survey that showed zero deficiencies, said Dr. Alexander Senkoff, medical director.

Featuring 80 private patient rooms, the center provides physical, occupational, speech and respiratory therapy for patients needing more time to recover after leaving the hospital following a heart attack, stroke, pneumonia, joint replacement or other conditions.

In addition to Medicare, the center contracts with Kaiser Permanente and other commercial insurance companies.

Check out HMO, PPO satisfaction rates

A Consumer Reports National Research Center study rates experiences with HMOs and PPOs. Results are published in the September issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
Overall, 67 percent of 37,000 survey respondents said they were completely or very satisfied with their health insurance plan, up from 64 percent in a 2004 survey.
The reasons? Problems getting a doctor’s appointment: 10 percent.
Problems with billing errors: 21 percent.
Problems with primary care provider: 25 percent.
Problems with getting help from insurance company: 36 percent.
Of Colorado’s HMO plans, Kaiser Permanent Colorado ranked highest, with an overall satisfaction score of 81 percent, out of 100 percent. Pacificare of Colorado ranked next, with 75 percent satisfaction.
On the PPO list are UnitedHealthcare with 74 percent satisfaction, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado with 73 percent satisfaction, CIGNA HealthCare, 72 percent, Humana, 71 percent and GreatWest Healthcare, 69 percent.